by Simon Samano, USA TODAY Sports

by Simon Samano, USA TODAY Sports

So when Lakers center Dwight Howard was asked Thursday what he thought of Shaquille O'Neal essentially saying last week that he prefers Andrew Bynum and Brook Lopez, Howard cited The Golden Rule in wondering why Shaq would even go there.

"He hated the fact that when he played, the older guys were talking about him and how he played, and now he's doing the exact same thing. Just let it go," Howard said, via Lakers.com. "There's no sense for him to be talking trash. He did his thing in the league, one of the most dominant players to ever play the game. Just sit back and relax. Your time is up."

This is not the Dwight Howard we would've expected, not after the drama we've heard about going down in Orlando last season before he was traded to Los Angeles.

Howard could've easily fired back and started a feud. Instead, he sounded more like a man who was looking to end one before it even began.

"I have respect for (Shaq) and what he did for basketball. That's it," Howard said. "Like I said, he already did his thing. He played. When my time is up there's going to be someone else who can do everything I can do and probably do it better. Instead of me talking about it, I'll do my job to help him get where I'm at. That's what guys who've done it before should do."